This invention relates generally to efficient space utilization systems, and, more specifically, to improved systems which permit space optimization for parking or storing automobiles.
The need for systems which optimize space utilization has become increasingly important. Efficiency, space availability and overall cost considerations each weigh heavily in the design and adoption of any new system. In this regard, our growing population, the accompanying increased use of automobiles, concerns for preserving as much of our natural environment as possible, and the rising cost of real estate have all contributed to the need for improving automobile parking and storage systems. One obvious method of improving parking and storage space utilization has been to squeeze as many automobile stalls into a given area at the expense of driving and maneuvering room. Such has been attempted in various apartment and high-rise building projects with limited success.
The chief drawback in limiting maneuvering room for automobiles has been the necessary reliance on either the skill of the average driver in negotiating restricted area turns and the like, or the provision of a convenient exit from the area. Indeed, where a long, narrow alley provides the only access to parking stalls on each side, but eventually dead-ends, drivers attempting to leave such areas have often been required to back-up their automobiles the entire length of the alley. This can be very irritating to the driver, and is sometimes even impossible. Moreover, in cases where residences are built in rugged terrain and where the driveways can, at times, be very steep, many drivers find the prospect of backing an automobile down the length of such driveways totally unacceptable.
Additionally, an increasing segment of the driving population, due to age or physical infirmities, finds it difficult to back-up an automobile at all. Such drivers would prefer an arduous and circuitous path on which they could negotiate their automobile in a forward direction, rather than back-up the automobile for even a short distance. Separately from the space utilization problems noted above, these drivers find it highly desirable to park their automobiles where they know they will be able to drive out in a forward direction.
Accordingly, there has been a need for an automobile parking and storage system which minimizes the required rearward driving within parking and storage areas, and which can be easily incorporated into conventional plans for parking lots, storage garages and the like. Additionally, there is a need for an automobile parking and storage system which can be economically added to existing parking lots and structures to improve and modify existing systems. Moreover, a device is needed which will enable average drivers to maneuver their automobiles around heretofore unnegotiable turns. Finally, there exists a significant need for an automobile parking and storage system which will help optimize the use of space which has been set aside for parking or storage, and which is economically attractive to builders and land owners, as well as being ecologically acceptable. The present invention fulfils these needs and provides other related advantages.